1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to manufactured homes and more particularly to an improved modular support assembly for a manufactured home.
2. Background of the Invention
In recent years, the manufactured home industry has substantially increased the quality of materials and construction of manufactured homes. This increase in quality and construction has been the result of superior materials, superior construction techniques, and new innovations which have resulted in a substantial increase in performance with a reduction in cost.
In general, a manufactured home is erected in an automated manufacturing factory using modern patterns, assembly line, and modern assembly equipment. The use of these automation techniques substantially reduces the cost and the time of construction of the manufactured home. After the manufactured home is completed, the manufactured home is stored on supports to await transportation to a permanent site for the manufactured home.
The manufactured home is loaded on a transportation carrier for transportation to the permanent site for the manufactured home. The manufactured home is positioned onto the transportation carrier by crane or other lifting means. The transportation carrier comprises a steel frame assembly supported by plural axles and transport wheels. The transportation carrier includes a hitch for attaching the transportation carrier to a towing vehicle such as a truck for transporting the manufactured home to the permanent site.
After the manufactured home is towed to the permanent site, the manufactured home is removed from the transportation carrier by a crane or other lifting means and the manufactured home is positioned on a foundation at the permanent home site. After removal of the manufactured home, the carrier transport is towed back to the manufacturing factory by a towing vehicle such as a truck for use in delivering another manufactured home. Unfortunately, the carrier transport is returned to the manufacturing factory without a load thereby substantially increasing the overall cost of delivery of the manufactured home. It is estimated that the cost of returning the carrier transport to the manufacturing factory is approximately one dollar per mile. Furthermore, the task of moving the manufactured home from the carrier transport to the foundation at the permanent home site requires the use of a crane or other lifting means. Accordingly, the transportation and installation of manufactured homes requiring the use of a carrier transport substantially adds to the overall cost of the manufactured home.
Among the most significant construction innovations developed in the manufactured home industry is the use of a dual purpose flooring system for a manufactured home. The dual purpose flooring system for a manufactured home comprises plural longitudinally extending beams and a multiplicity of transverse cross beams. The plural longitudinally extending beams are preferably steel I-beams with the multiplicity of transverse cross beams comprising wooden trusses.
The dual purpose flooring system provides a first function for the manufactured home by providing a removable transport wheel assembly and a removable hitch assembly for transporting the manufactured home to the permanent home site. A removable transport wheel assembly and a removable hitch assembly are secured to the plural longitudinally extending beams for transporting the manufactured home and eliminating the need for an independent transportation carrier. When the manufactured home reaches the permanent home site, the removable transport wheel assembly and a removable hitch assembly are removed from the manufactured home and are shipped to the manufacturing factory. Only the removable transport wheel assembly and a removable hitch assembly which comprise the most expensive portions of a transport carrier need to be returned to the manufacturing factory. In addition, the removable transport wheel assembly and a removable hitch may be returned to the manufacturing factory by a conventional freight carrier thus eliminating the need for using the towing vehicle as was the problem in the prior art manufactured home carrier transports.
The dual purpose flooring system provides a second function for the manufactured home by reducing the overall height of the manufactured home when the manufactured home is being transported to the permanent home site. Since the removable transport wheel assembly and the removable hitch assembly are directly secured to the plural longitudinally extending beams of the manufactured home, the dual purpose flooring system reduces the overall height of the manufactured home during transportation by the thickness of the frame of the carrier transport of the prior art.
The dual purpose flooring system provides a second function for the manufactured home by providing a rigid floor for supporting the manufactured home at the permanent home site. The plural longitudinally extending beams remain with the manufactured home after removal of the removable transport wheel assembly and the removable hitch assembly to provide a rigid support to the permanently mounted manufactured home. The plural longitudinally extending beams remain with the manufactured home to add to the structural integrity and strength of the flooring system. Several examples of the aforementioned dual purpose flooring system are disclosed in the following U.S. Letters Patent of the present inventor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,299 to Lindsay discloses an improved floor assembly being incorporated into a mobile building. A pair of identical frame assemblies form the floor of the building each including a plurality of middle beams mounted to and atop lower beams and further including a pair of adjacent interior sidewalls attached to the middle beams and extending therebeneath being adjacent the lower beams. The exterior sidewalls are mounted to the frame assemblies. Wheeled carriages are removably mountable to the assemblies facilitating transportation of the assemblies to a building site. A skirt is permanently mounted externally to the sidewalls and extends adjacent the floor assembly. A bracket is connected to the middle beam and the bottom beam of each frame assembly and in addition is connected to a pole which supports the adjacent middle portions of the frame assemblies. The interior sidewalls are slidably received in the bracket. In an alternate embodiment, the floor frame assembly is incorporated into a floor joist.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,189 to Lindsay discloses a floor frame assembly, formed principally of wood material, having two load-bearing outer beams and front and rear end members defining a periphery and a plurality of transverse load-supporting trusses connected normal to the outer beam between the end members. In a preferred embodiment, each truss has an upper elongate member, a shorter central elongate member attached parallel thereto by vertical cross-braced elements, and on either side of the central member a braced vertical member spaced therefrom to provide gaps of predetermined height and width. Each truss also has an end portion of the upper elongate member in cantilever form for contact thereat with a load-supporting surface at the permanent location of the floor assembly, so that additional external beams or continuous wall surfaces to support the completed floor frame assembly and any superstructure thereon is rendered unnecessary. The floor frame assembly may be further supported by conventional piers or jackposts at points under two elongate, load-supporting, inner beams closely received and connected to the trusses within the gaps. These inner beams may optionally be made of wood material, wood material supported along the edges at selected portions by metal reinforcement, or entirely formed of I-section beam lengths. In one aspect of the invention, at least one of the load-supporting outer beams has a larger vertical dimension than the other outer beam and two floor frame assemblies thus formed may be united at their respective wider outer beams and provide additional support thereunder to generate a commensurately larger floor frame assembly structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,072 to Lindsay discloses a unified floor frame assembly having two elongate outer load supporting beams formed of elongate beam sections that are butt-spliced to be cambered in parallel vertical planes to counter forces that may tend to cause sagging of the floor frame assembly during transportation. At inner vertical perimeter surfaces of the elongate beams are provided attachment plates for attachment, first, of a wheel carrier assembly detachably mountable thereto with a plurality of wheels partially recessed within the floor frame assembly and, second, a towing hitch assembly attachable to a forward end of the floor frame assembly for applying a towing force thereat. A moisture, dirt, insect and pest excluding thin covering is provided underneath the floor frame assembly and sections of heating and ventilating ducting, piping, wiring and the like are included during manufacture of the floor frame assembly. Individual floor frame assemblies may be supported at their permanent location underneath the periphery or, where two such floor frame assemblies are to be coupled to obtain a larger size floor, central elongate beams may be supported by metal posts. Upon delivery of the floor frame assembly to its intended location, the wheel carrier assembly and the towing hitch assembly are both detached and removed therefrom for reuse.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,546 to Lindsay discloses a towable unified floor frame assembly deriving lengthwise strength from two elongate I-beams disposed symmetrically about a longitudinal axis. The I-beams are separated by a plurality of angle-sectioned metal cross members welded therebetween. A plurality of trusses, corresponding in number and location to the metal cross members, is disposed to support an outer perimeter and a floor thereabove. Each truss incorporates upwardly inclined bracing elements located outwardly of the I-beams connected to flat metal connecting elements individually unified to the I-beams, preferably by welding. A waterproof and dirt excluding cover entirely covers the underneath of the floor frame assembly. Heating and ventilating ducts, power and telephone wires, water and waste pipes, thermal insulation and the like, are installed within the floor frame assembly. The entire floor frame assembly, and any superstructure built thereon, may be readily towed to a selected location on a plurality of wheels detachably mounted to brackets provided underneath the I-beams, a towing force being applied by a forwardly disposed detachable towing hitch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,809 to Lindsay discloses a lightweight, strong, safely transportable modular unified floor assembly including a lengthwise wooden girder beam formed with male and female ends to facilitate cooperative integration thereby to another similar floor assembly. In another aspect of the invention, the floor assembly is manufactured with a stairwell opening of selected size and at a selected location. The floor assembly even with a stairwell opening according to this invention is strong enough to be transported comfortably and safely from its point of manufacture to the site at which it is to be located for use.
A significant improvement in the dual purpose floor system is set forth in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,189 and my U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,546. In these patents, I disclosed a transverse beam for interconnecting a first and a second I-beam for creating a dual purpose floor system. The transverse beams in combination with the first and second I-beams provided a strength sufficient for transporting the manufactured home to the permanent home site and for providing a rigid floor after the manufactured home is installed at the permanent home site. These improved transverse beams worked remarkably well and provided a substantial improvement to the manufactured home industry.
The transverse beam incorporated a first and a second slot for respectively receiving a first and a second I-beam. When the first and second I-beams were disposed within the first and second slots, a metal connecting element or bearing block was inserted between each of the first and transverse beam and each of the first and second I-beams. The metal connecting elements or bearing blocks was required to engage a side surface of the vertical portion of the I-beam that is recessed relative to the top horizontal portion of the I-beam. The metal connecting element or the bearing block was manually inserted between the transverse beam and the first and second I-beams.
In some cases, the transverse beams were manufactured at a remote location from the manufacturing factory of the manufactured home. These transverse beams have a length of nine to fourteen feet in length. In such instances, the cost of transporting the transverse beams to the manufacturing factory was a significant part of the cost of the transverse beam.
It is a primary purpose of the present invention to improve upon the aforementioned dual purpose flooring system to provide a more superior manufactured home. It is a specific purpose of the present invention to provide an improved modular support for a manufactured home which enhances the aforementioned transverse beams.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved modular support for a manufactured home for reinforcing the terminal ends of the transverse beam of the manufactured home.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved modular support for a manufactured home for reinforcing the transverse beam of the manufactured home which may be installed after the transverse beams are affixed in place.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved modular support for a manufactured home for reinforcing the transverse beam of the manufactured home which may be installed with different spacings for accommodating for different loadings of the manufactured home.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved modular support for a manufactured home that is capable of easy transportation to the manufacturing factory for assembly thereat.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved modular support for a manufactured home wherein the modular components of the modular support may be transported in component form and assembled at the manufacturing factory to provide a substantial savings in shipping costs.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved modular support for a manufactured home that is capable of accommodating manufactured homes of variable size and width.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved modular support for a manufactured home that eliminates the need for metal connecting elements or bearing blocks.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved modular support for a manufactured home that is adaptable to existing manufacturing processes of manufactured homes.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved modular support for a manufactured home that facilitates the assembly of the manufactured home in the manufacturing factory.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved modular support for a manufactured home that reduces the overall cost of the manufactured home.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention with in the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the detailed description setting forth the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.